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Vicki Boyer's blog

Raleigh could be on the verge of being chosen for the home of a new military command. The US Army is seeking a location for the Futures Command Headquarters. This group would be reponsible for the creation of weaponry to suit the needs of the coming century, replacing a trend to simply update weapons used in the last century. Ideal locations include areas with access to strong university centers, a vibrant business community, a talented and educated workforce (especially in engineering), and good quality of life. Raleigh sounds like a no-brainer.

Fake Twitter accounts abound these days, but a lot of North Carolinians haven't given much thought to how this might affect our state. Time to take notice.
Turns out, the fakes are already here, working to shape the political landscape of our state.

The NCGA GOP put $200,000 in the 2019 budget for DonorsChoose, dedicating the use of those funds for school supplies, but only for schools in the new election district of GOP State Senator Jeff Tarte. The charity pointed out it was not consulted about this and only learned about it via Twitter.

As EMC Insurance, the largest insurer of schools in Kansas, explained in a letter to its agents, the company “has concluded that concealed handguns on school premises poses a heightened liability risk.”

When I was first taught the concept of Freedom of Religion I was told that in America, we could each belong to any faith we wanted as long as we respected the rights of others to make different choices. That meant we did not force our religious beliefs upon others and expected they would do the same in return. Mutual respect. It meant that our government did not engage is supporting a particular religious belief, through word or deed

My takeaway from today's Joint Committee on Judicial Reform and Redistricting is this. Repeatedly, comments were made by Republican reps & senators that the current process wasn't transparent or open to the public, and that allowing 'a bunch of lawyers' who were members of the local bar to submit recommended names to the governor for appointment to a vacancy on the bench was like letting the lawyers pick their own judges.

Long ago, Republicans wrapped themselves in the flag and claimed they were the only true patriots.
Then they proclaimed only they had 'family values.'
Now, Dan Forest tries to convince us that only Republicans worship God.

He says Democrats worship an idol called 'big government.'

Forest, a likely Republican candidate for governor in 2020, said “the left” marches and lobbies for bigger government with “religious fervor.”

You may remember the term carte blanche from reading The Three Muskateers. Cardinal Richeleau issued a carte blanche to Milady de Winter. It read only, "By my word and for the good of the state, the bearer has done what has been done." This gave her unlimited power to do anything, break any law, without any consequences to herself. She was, effectively, above the law.

Of course, such a thing can, and did, backfire. When the carte blanche fell into the hands of D'Artagnion, he used it to justify Milady's execution.

ICYMI, on Friday the Department of Homeland Security put out an ad seeking a contract firm that could monitor over 200,000 journalists and people who post on public media.Yes, that's right, DHS wants to create a list of journalists, and bloggers, and others, who make public comments. On what topics? Who knows!

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